


Are You Sure Gretzky Done It This Way?

by luciferinasundaysuit



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-14
Updated: 2013-06-14
Packaged: 2017-12-14 23:07:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/842428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luciferinasundaysuit/pseuds/luciferinasundaysuit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The thing is, Tyler has a crush on Phil.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Are You Sure Gretzky Done It This Way?

From his spot on the couch, game controller in hand, Tyler looks like he's playing video games. He is, but he's also not. Mostly, he's thinking about Phil.

The thing is, Tyler has a crush on Phil. He hates putting it that way. The word crush makes him feel like a teenager staring at someone across a classroom, asking them to go steady because he thinks they're cute without actually knowing them at all. What can he say, he was a dumbass teenager.

He tries to think of other words to call it, not that he ever says it out loud. Infatuation just sounds stupid. He's not sweet on him because he's not a seventy year old man sitting in a rocking chair. He doesn't fancy him because he's not a seventy year old British man sitting in a rocking chair. He's not mesmerized by him. That's not the right word. People are mesmerized by guys like Joff. Phil's not like that. It's not that Tyler's not attracted to him - he is, even though he knows some people might not be - but Phil's...steady, solid. The way he feels about him is more honest than being mesmerized. And now he sounds like his cousin Kathy when she was going through her romance novel phase.

Saying he has a thing for Phil is probably the best way to put it, even if that doesn't make it sound serious enough. He knows what his mom would say ("You have feelings for him, Tyler"), but that sounds super lame, even to him. He _is_ attracted to Phil. A lot, even. He likes his eyes, the big grin he gives when Tyler says something totally stupid, the huge grin he gives when Tyler says something stupid that distracts reporters from the fact that Phil hasn't actually answered them, his hands, his shoulders, his back. He's really attracted to Phil, is the point here. But it's more than that. It's not even really attraction based.

Phil is kind. There's no other word for it. He's a genuinely good guy, and Tyler's smart enough to know that that's a rare commodity. Tyler knows people think he's some idiot frat boy. He supposes with the way he acts sometimes, that's fair, but he really isn't stupid. 

He thinks everyone else might be, though, the way no one notices Phil but him. From what he can tell, most of the fans want Joff. Joff's a good guy, but he's not going to be anybody's Mr. Right, at least not soon. That line of thought scares Tyler, because that means he thinks Phil is Mr. Right material, and when the hell did he start thinking like that? He's never thought of himself as wanting to settle down, not before he retires, and definitely not with a teammate, a linemate, his roommate. 

Okay, maybe he is an idiot, because this is possibly the most potentially complicated situation he's ever been in, and he's gotten himself into his share of tight spots. He could make a joke at that, but he's trying to be mature and self-aware and philosophical, so he won't. He recognized the opportunity, though, so that right there probably loses him maturity points. He's also playing video games and wearing a backwards hat. Yeah, the maturity ship has probably already sailed.

He sets his controller down, sighs, scrubs a hand over his face. He turns to Stella curled up next to him.

"What am I gonna do?" he asks her.

She gives him a look that seems to say "Talk to him about it, jackass."

"Yeah, well, what do you know? You're a dog," he retorts.

And now he's arguing with a dog. Not even his dog. Phil's dog. He should be ashamed, but this morning was a tough practice, so he doesn't really have the energy.

He knows he should talk to Phil about it. Sitting on the couch and moping isn't going to get him anywhere. He's just. Okay, he's scared. He knows that Phil won't hate him. Phil's a better person than that. No, Phil would be nice about it and smile at him and pity him, and that's worse. 

Maybe Phil would like him too, though. That's possible. Maybe. If he's lucky. Really, really lucky.

"It could happen, right?" he says to Stella.

She noses at his knee. Maybe she's telling him not to be such a pessimist. Or maybe she's not saying anything, because he's still discussing his love life with a dog. He hasn't felt this pathetic since the first time he got drunk and threw up cheap tequila all night in a stranger's bathroom.

The other thing, though, is that Tyler hates not knowing things. He really hates it. The "maybe, maybe, could be" at the back of his mind is pretty much driving him insane. Every time he sees Phil, which is pretty much a good 85% of his time-fine, 90, he knows he's not kidding anybody-he thinks "maybe, just maybe." 

He thinks it when he's handing Phil his coffee in the morning, when they're doing drills at practice, when he's driving them home. He thinks it when they're pretending not to be pressed together shoulder to shoulder and knee to knee on an airplane, the comfort the only thing keeping them both from losing their cool completely. He thinks it when Phil smiles at him extra bright, when they walk Stella together, when Phil bothers to include Tyler in things he does with his family. He thinks it at night when they're watching a movie on the couch, Phil all sleepy and blurred around the edges. He thinks it pretty much all the time, and he feels like an absolute fool every single time. Until the next time, the next flash of hope.

Tyler groans, drops his head back onto the couch cushions. He's completely done with this bullshit. He's a grown man. He's a professional hockey player. He can do this. He can.

He reaches over to pet Stella. 

"You think I can do it, right, girl?"

She licks his hand in answer.

"That's a yes, isn't it? I've gotta do it, don't I, Stella?"

She stares at him, seeming to say, "Yes, you dumb fuck." The dog is really not impressed with him.

Phil will be home from his errands soon. He could talk to him then. It's a good idea, he tells himself. He reaches down to pat Stella again.

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take, don't you?"

She's still staring at him blankly. This time, it looks like she means "That's the best you've got, Bozie?"

He sighs. Gretzky probably never had to deal with this shit. 

Tyler nods to himself. He's going to do it. He's going to talk to Phil. At the very least, Stella will stop judging him. He really doesn't know what will happen, but he has to try.

**Author's Note:**

> Title adapted from "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way" by Waylon Jennings


End file.
